“The magnitude and complexity of the issues posed by climate change require a multi-disciplinary response.” said Teo Chee Hean, Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Security and Minister for Home Affairs, at the opening ceremony of the conference. “Given that the theme for the World Engineers Summit focuses on climate change, it is appropriate that the Summit is held alongside the annual Singapore Green Buildings Week, which features two other key events, namely the International Green Buildings Conference and Build Eco Xpo Asia. Together, these events will enable participants to exchange views on a range of engineering topics, with a specific emphasis on climate change.”

During the event, Inhabitat will be exploring Green Mark, the certication program launched by BCA in 2005 to measure and track the sustainability of Singaporean buildings and help the country move towards their goal of greening 80% of buildings in Singapore by 2030. The system is comparable to LEED but with an emphasis on efficient cooling technology, which is obviously critical in a tropical climate like Singapore’s. With very few natural resources and the rising cost of importing fuel, Singapore is very serious about improving the energy efficiency of its structures. That commitment has translated to 21% of Singaporean building stock (1,650 buildings) being Green Mark-certified to date.

We’ll be talking to key members of the BCA as well as architects, engineers and leaders from other nations about climate change, sustainability goals and new green technologies throughout the week. Stay tuned for interviews and photo tours through some of Singapore’s greenest buildings, including the region’s first zero energy building.